The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2018) review - Movie Thoughts (Chapter 45) 🎄

Hello everyone,

Today's film was a family Disney treat that slipped through the cracks for me when it first came out. I'm probably one of few people in the world who isn't a huge fan of The Nutcracker story, so I wasn't particularly excited about an adaptation of that; however the idea of Morgan Freeman, Dame Helen Mirren and Keira Knightley playing dress-up did intrigue me. So in my free time, I had a chance to watch it and it was fine. Not great, not terrible; just fine....

(**disclaimer: the following thoughts are 100% my opinion, you do not have to agree with them - film is inherently subjective and everyone's perspective is valid! Also, there are probably spoilers in the following, read at your own risk. Now onto some thoughts....**)

Source: IMDB

A whimsical and surreal adaptation of a beloved Christmas tale, this re-imagination had memorable visual spectacle but lacked consistency in a way that lost a spark or two by the end credits. On Christmas Eve, Clara (Mackenzie Foy) discovers that her mother left an inheritance of a magical land of fairies and live toy soldiers. She soon learns she holds the key to the fate of the Four Realms in her hands. Whilst Clara is an adventurous, fearless and largely likeable protagonist, there was plenty of missteps happening around her and on-screen that left this film with a lot to be desired.

Visually saturated with colour and opulent detail, there was an aesthetic to large sequences of this film that Tim Burton would have been very proud of. Guy Hendrix Dyas’ busy production design had glitter, splendour and grand scope at its core, and a particular focus on cogs, clockwork and mechanics that was hard to miss but not explored enough in the dialogue or themes. Even if the narrative wasn’t working, it was always splendid to look at with everything from the soldiers to the wallpaper being dialled up to eleven. Costume designer Jenny Beavan and make-up/hair co-ordinator Jenny Shircore delivered some beautiful and opulent designs; combining an exciting vibrancy with a fantastical outrageousness that you would expect from a wonderous fantasy land. One of the film’s highlights, the design work dressed everything up with a brightness that was also reminiscent of the famous ballet’s visuals.

There was an early attempt to darken the screen and the tone with an ominous first introduction to the world and an ominous belief that ‘no-one escapes the Fourth Realm’. With a creepy, haunted amusement park and frightening swarms of mice cloaked in shadowy woods, there was an attempt to develop light and shade throughout, although the presence of ‘dark’ elements fizzled out a little bit towards the end in favour of more conventional villainy.

Not only was the premise a popular seasonal cultural staple, but there were also speckles of other pop culture references that added a degree of unexpected charm and cemented its identity as another fairy-tale-esque fantasy adventure. How Clara was introduced had roots in Alice in Wonderland’s title protagonist. Both Alice and Clara were presented as intelligent and headstrong young women who felt like outcasts in their society and didn’t like dresses very much. Foy’s Clara was a mechanical genius, and her intellect was predictably cumbersome in the beginning but helpful and later fully owned by Clara because of her ‘hero’s’ journey. Her first step into the Realms was lifted straight out of the Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe with the darkened room in a big house and a door that opened to a winter forest and a mysterious light; in this case an Xmas tree. Clara even said ‘guess I’m not in London anymore’; referencing the original girl discovering a new land, Dorothy and the twists and turns of Oz. These callbacks were exciting to see in line with how co-directors Lasse Hallstrom and Joe Johnston amped up the original concept of the Nutcracker story.

The James Newton Howard score captured the magical, sparkly lightness of the ballet really well and reinforced an implicit musicality at the story’s core. There were even bits and pieces of the ballet music itself throughout, and audiences could pick out the famous tunes and themes. There was even an extensive ballet sequence built into the narrative to illustrate the origin story of the Four Realms. Featuring an incredible dance performance by soloist Misty Copeland, adding this element was gorgeous to watch on-screen if a little bit oddly shoe-horned in. The characters of the ballet have obviously inspired the aesthetics of the Four Realms; the Land of Snowflakes, the Land of Sweets, the Land of Flowers and the now exiled Land of Amusements. Clever elevations of somewhat side characters and visuals in the ballet through baking them into the world construction, but they didn’t have a lot of depth outside of the reputation of the Amusement realm. Other obvious cues like the Mouse king metamorphosed into a giant formation of live mice; but their true nature were a distinct departure from the original source. Ever quintessentially Russian, the palace was a spitting image of St Basil’s Cathedral in Red Square as the prodigal princess returned. Audiences weren’t able to forget what story they were being taken on whilst trying to follow the events of the film premise within the context of the Realms.

Hallstrom and Johnston didn’t do anything crazy, with simple and at times bland direction. Although it did have visual sparkle, nothing about the film was arrestingly captivating. There was too much exposition and not enough flow or charisma between characters with the bulk of dialogue sitting with Sugar Plum (Keira Knightley), Clara and Phillip (Jayden Fowora-Knight) whilst Mother Ginger (Helen Mirren) and toymaker Drosselmeyer (Morgan Freeman) were lovely wall dressings in the sense that they were really underused. Many of the action sequences were rather clunky, but there were moments where a strong sense of peril was developed. Ashleigh Powell’s screenplay and story was conceptually good, but thematically thin. Not much time was given to anything else other than repairing Clara’s relationship with her family and working through her grief over the loss of her beloved mother. Much of the script and dialogue was bland, and Sugar Plum’s wit was largely very cheesy. There was an overwhelming sense that it didn’t have much of a soul with sincerity that never quite landed in a consistent sweet spot.

A talented ensemble cast gave solid character-driven performances. Foy nailed the wide-eyed maturity of Clara in the stand-out leading role. Fowora-Knight’s performance also had great charm and his courage alongside some great quippy lines made for a strong presence. Sugar Plum was not really a main character in the ballet, but received a serious promotion to squeaky and crazy prominence. Knightley clearly had the time of her life and her voice was distinctive but it all fell a bit flat at times.

Much of this film was charming and distinctively visual-heavy. Underneath was patchy and inconsistent construction that ate away at some of its merit and lowered its quality. Much like a sugar rush, this felt great but eventually lulled into a disappointing sort of indifference.

7/10, 3 STARS

Thanks for reading,

Love and snowflakes, sweets, flowers and amusements, Emily 🎄